Bette Davis

"She could look demure while behaving like an empress. Blonde, with eyes like pearls too big for her head, she was very striking, but marginally pretty and certainly not beautiful . . . But it was her edge that made her memorable—her upstart superiority, her reluctance to pretend deference to others."

Bette Davis was the commanding figure of the great era of Hollywood stardom, with a drive and energy that put her contemporaries in the shade. She played queens, jezebels, and bitches; she could out-talk any male costar; she warred with her studio, Warner Bros., worked like a demon, got through four husbands, was nominated for seven Oscars, and—no matter what—never gave up fighting. This is her story, from the acclaimed film critic David Thomson.

BETTE DAVIS

User Review - Kirkus

The stars shine bright in this series of brief biographies of four of classic Hollywood's most enduring icons.Eminent film critic Thomson (The Moment of Psycho: How Alfred Hitchcock Taught America to ...Read full review

About the author (2010)

DAVID THOMSON is, among many other things, the author of The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, now in its fourth edition. His books include a biography of Nicole Kidman, Fan Tan (a novel written in collaboration with Marlon Brando), and The WholeEquation: A History of Hollywood. His work also include the acclaimed Have You Seen . . . ?: A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films. Born in London, he now lives in San Francisco.